G
[Verse 1]
He said, my name is Nakashima
C G
And I'm a proud American
C G
I came here in '24
Am D
From my homeland in Japan
[Verse 2]
G
And I picked your grapes and oranges
C G
Saved some money, bought a store
C G
Until Nineteen Forty-Two
Am D
Pearl Harbour and the war
[Verse 3]
G
Came those relocation orders
C G
They took our house, the store, the car
C G
Then they drove us to the desert
Am D
To a place called Manzanar
[Verse 4]
G
The Spanish word for "apple orchard"
C G
Though we saw no apple trees
C G
Only rows of prison barracks
Am D
With barbed wire boundaries
[Chorus]
N.C. C G
And we dream of apple blossoms
C D
Waving free beneath the stars
C G
Till we wake up in the desert
Am D
The prisoners of Manzanar
G
Manzanar
[Verse 5]
Fifty years, they've all but vanished
C G
And now I am an old man
C G
And I don't regret the day
Am D
That I came here from Japan
[Verse 6]
G
But on moonlit winter nights
C G
I often wish upon a star
C G
That I'd forget the shame and sorrow
Am D
That I felt at Manzanar
[Chorus]
N.C. C G
And we dream of apple blossoms
C D
Waving free beneath the stars
C G
Till we wake up in the desert
Am D
The prisoners of Manzanar
G
Manzanar
[Outro]
C G C D C G Am
D
Manzanar
G
Manzanar
